Genome assembly of Danaus chrysippus and comparison with the Monarch Danaus plexippus
Singh KS, De-Kayne R, Omufwoko KS and others. G3 (Bethesda, Md.), March 2022.
Read the paper Free to read · doi:10.1093/g3journal/jkab449
What this paper is about
A near-chromosomal genome for the African monarch, assembled from long reads and compared with the North American monarch.
The species is of interest because its chromosomes have been rearranged, which gives a way to study what structural change does to evolution in a close relative of a well-sequenced species.
Summarised here from the abstract below. Not the authors’ words.
Abstract
Milkweed butterflies in the genus Danaus are studied in a diverse range of research fields including the neurobiology of migration, biochemistry of plant detoxification, host-parasite interactions, evolution of sex chromosomes, and speciation. We have assembled a nearly chromosomal genome for Danaus chrysippus (known as the African Monarch, African Queen, and Plain Tiger) using long-read sequencing data. This species is of particular interest for the study of genome structural change and its consequences for evolution. Comparison with the genome of the North American Monarch Danaus plexippus reveals generally strong synteny but highlights 3 inversion differences. The 3 chromosomes involved were previously found to carry peaks of intraspecific differentiation in D. chrysippus in Africa, suggesting that these inversions may be polymorphic and associated with local adaptation. The D. chrysippus genome is over 40% larger than that of D. plexippus, and nearly all of the additional ∼100 Megabases of DNA comprises repeats. Future comparative genomic studies within this genus will shed light on the evolution of genome architecture.
Abstract reproduced from the published paper, which is licensed CC BY. Copyright remains with the authors.
Key terms
Find the paper
Cite this page
This page is licensed CC BY 4.0. Quote it, adapt it and reuse it, including commercially, as long as you credit Milkweed USA and link back.
Milkweed USA. (2026). Genome assembly of Danaus chrysippus and comparison with the Monarch Danaus plexippus (listing). Retrieved DATE, from https://milkweedusa.com/research/genome-assembly-of-danaus-chrysippus-and-comparison-with-the-2022/
"Genome assembly of Danaus chrysippus and comparison with the Monarch Danaus plexippus (listing)." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/research/genome-assembly-of-danaus-chrysippus-and-comparison-with-the-2022/. Accessed DATE.
Milkweed USA. "Genome assembly of Danaus chrysippus and comparison with the Monarch Danaus plexippus (listing)." Last modified 2026-08-01. Accessed DATE. https://milkweedusa.com/research/genome-assembly-of-danaus-chrysippus-and-comparison-with-the-2022/.
@misc{milkweedusa_researchgenomeassemblyofdana,
title = {Genome assembly of Danaus chrysippus and comparison with the Monarch Danaus plexippus (listing)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/research/genome-assembly-of-danaus-chrysippus-and-comparison-with-the-2022/},
note = {Accessed DATE}
}